Printing Photos the Easy Way

Printing Photos the Easy Way

We are a generation that grew up with cameras; most of us probably have tons of albums at home, waiting to be shared with relatives and guests. And while technology now allows us to take hundreds of photos effortlessly, not everyone bothers to have these photos developed. Instead, one probably stores them on the PC, only burning it onto a blank disc when the hard drive is full. This is what Canon is planning to change with its new portable SELPHY ES-1 printer, which aims to bring the photo lab to every home and make printing photos a breeze.

Portable Developing Lab

The first thing you'll notice about the SELPHY ES-1 is its form factor. This printer is not only compact, but is also sleek with a white and silver finish and has a backlit SELPHY logo. Another notable feature of the SELPHY is the 2.5-inch LCD that can be tilted up and can be used for editing photos or for displaying important information. The menus and buttons are quite intuitive, making it easy for anyone to use the unit without having to read the manual.

What makes SELPHY unique from other printers out there is the fact that both the paper and inks come in one cartridge, thanks to its dye-sublimation print technology. The ink runs out as soon as the paper in the tray runs out, saving the need to purchase separate inks. Moreover, with the optional accessories available, the SELPHY can be further improved to be a truly wireless printer. For instance, with a Bluetooth adaptor, users can print photos from mobile phones and other Bluetooth compliant devices.

If that's not enough, an optional battery pack can be purchased so that you can bring your SELPHY anywhere and instantly print photos on the spot. Of course, the SELPHY ES-1 can also be connected to a PC for photo adjustments with Canon's software utilities, making this a well-rounded photo printer.

The Perfect Photo Output 24/7

Providing quality photos is what the Canon SELPHY ES-1 is all about, thanks to its DIGIC II processor. With this technology, it is now possible to reproduce the color qualities that are found on compact cameras and DSLRs without the aid of a PC. What's more, the SELPHY can also correct the ever annoying red eye and exposure problems in the captured photos.

During our tests, we found the ES-1 to produce excellent prints that were slightly darker than the original. The preset options like vivid and vivid red/green/blue allow a user to adjust the color settings, but these adjustments obviously pale in comparison to dedicated photo editing software. Furthermore, the SELPHY also has preset creative menus to create albums, calendars, multi-layout prints and even speech bubbles.

Final Thoughts

The Canon SELPHY ES-1 does a great job with the printouts displaying consistent color and saturation throughout the tests, with printing speeds averaging around 73 seconds for a 4R print. Not only that, the SELPHY also comes with various preset options and intuitive menus, making the SELPHY ES-1 a fun and easy photo printer for those captivating moments.